Brachypteryx is a genus of passerine birds in the family Muscicapidae containing ten species known as shortwings, that occurs in southeast Asia.
Shortwings are small birds with long legs, finely pointed bills, short tails and short rounded wings. They are shy elusive ground-dwellers that generally prefer the cover of dense undergrowth.[2]
The genus Brachypteryx was introduced by the American naturalist Thomas Horsfield in 1821.[3] The word comes from the classical Greek brakhus mean "short" and pterux meaning "wing".[4] The genus was previously placed in the thrush family Turdidae but in 2010 two separate molecular phylogenetic studies found that species in the genus were more closely related to members of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.[5][6]
The genus contains the following ten species:[7]
Rusty-bellied shortwing, Brachypteryx hyperythra
Lesser shortwing, Brachypteryx leucophris
Himalayan shortwing, Brachypteryx cruralis
Chinese shortwing, Brachypteryx sinensis
Taiwan shortwing, Brachypteryx goodfellowi
Philippine shortwing, Brachypteryx poliogyna – split from B. montana
Bornean shortwing, Brachypteryx erythrogyna – split from B. montana
Sumatran shortwing, Brachypteryx saturata – split from . montana
Javan shortwing, Brachypteryx montana – formerly the white-browed shortwing
Flores shortwing, Brachypteryx floris – split from B. montana
Whilst the Javan and rusty-bellied shortwings show strong sexual plumage dimorphism, the lesser shortwing is sexually monomorphic.
Three other species were formerly placed in Brachypteryx:
Great shortwing, Heinrichia calligyna
Nilgiri blue robin or Nilgiri shortwing Myiomela major
Gould's shortwing, Heteroxenicus stellata
^"Muscicapidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
^Clement, Peter (2016). Robins and Chats. Helm Identification Guides. London: Bloomsbury. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-4081-5596-7.
^Horsfield, Thomas (1821). "Systematic arrangement and description of birds from the island of Java". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London (in Latin and English). 13 (1): 133–200 [157]. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1821.tb00061.x. The paper was first read in April 1820. The title page is dated 1822.
^Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
^Sangster, G.; Alström, P.; Forsmark, E.; Olsson, U. (2010). "Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family, subfamily and genus level (Aves: Muscicapidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (1): 380–392. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008. PMID 20656044.
^Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Chats, Old World flycatchers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
Brachypteryx is a genus of passerine birds in the family Muscicapidae containing ten species known as shortwings, that occurs in southeast Asia. Shortwings...
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The lesser shortwing (Brachypteryx leucophris) is a species of chat. This species is now classified in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in south-eastern...
The Javan shortwing (Brachypteryx montana) (formerly the white-browed shortwing) is a species of bird that is placed in the Old World flycatcher family...
The Philippine shortwing (Brachypteryx poliogyna) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Philippines where it favours montane...
The Bornean shortwing (Brachypteryx erythrogyna) is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to Borneo where it...
The Sumatran shortwing (Brachypteryx saturata) is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the island of Sumatra...
Checklist of the Birds of the World in 2003, the genera Myophonus, Alethe, Brachypteryx and Monticola were included in the thrush family Turdidae. Subsequent...
The Flores shortwing (Brachypteryx floris) is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the island of Flores...
Larvivora. Larvivora is a sister of the species Brachypteryx cruralis, Brachypteryx leucophrys and Brachypteryx hyperythra. The Indian blue robin is similar...
They were formerly placed in the genus Brachypteryx and thought to be "shortwings". Species in the genus Brachypteryx show strong sexual dimorphism and because...
The Taiwan shortwing (Brachypteryx goodfellowi) is a species of chat. This species is now classified in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to Taiwan...
The Chinese shortwing (Brachypteryx sinensis) is a species of chat. This species is now classified in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in southern...
He placed it with the shortwings in the genus Brachypteryx and coined the binomial name Brachypteryx macroptera. The specific epithet is from Ancient...
He placed it with the shortwings in the genus Brachypteryx and coined the binomial name Brachypteryx malaccesis. He specified the type locality as Malacca...
The Himalayan shortwing (Brachypteryx cruralis) is a species of chat. This species is now classified in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in South-east...
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